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John Maskell got in touch to provide a more detailed account of his time with The Beat Syndicate who are listed on this site here and his first band Group 004 + 1 (originally called Johnny & The Bobcats).

Here are John’s recollections:

The group Bobby & The Bobcats formed early in 1962. Bobby left the group that November and The Bobcats held an audition at a youth club in Edmonton, north London.

Unbeknown to me, my good friend had put my name down to go up and sing, so when my name was called, I had no choice but to go up on stage, something I had not done, previously. To my surprise I was told to turn up for practice and the group then became Johnny & The Bobcats, based in Tottenham, north London.

In January 1964, the group was renamed Group 004 + 1.

John Maskell (lead vocals)

Bobby Savage (lead guitar)

Tony Deeks (rhythm guitar)

Joey Vale (bass)

Bernie Allen (drums)

The group progressed rapidly and before long we were supporting some big names in the pop industry.

One was at the West Cliff Ballroom in Ramsgate, Kent. We were booked to support singer Duffy Power and a group called The Beat Syndicate.

Duffy Power didn’t turn up for rehearsal; his manager didn’t know where he was and put the organisers in a very nervous situation, not knowing who the top of the bill was.

Duffy eventually turned up quite close to start time and was told he would have to go on first, which meant that Group 004 + 1 were told to go on last.

The end to this story came around three months later when I left Group 004 + 1 and was asked to join The Beat Syndicate.

My last appearance with Group 004 + 1 was at Shoreditch Town Hall supporting Gene Vincent & The Shouts.

The following is a list of all the venues and artists we supported in the period that I recall as Johnny & The Bobcats/Group 004 + 1.

Johnny & The Bobcats gig list:

The Swan Pub, Tottenham, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) Resident band every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and every other Sunday morning between January 1963-July 1964.

Tudor Hall, Hoddesdon, Herts (as Johnny & The Bobcats) with Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers in January 1963

Cuckoo Hall Lane Youth Club, Edmonton, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) on 13 February 1963

Alison Hall St Patrick’s Church, Enfield, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) on 18 February 1963

Alison Hall St Patrick’s Church, Enfield, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) on 10 March 1963

The Cambridge pub, Edmonton, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) in April 1963

The Ritz Cinema, Turnpike Lane, Wood Green, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) in May 1963

Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex with Verne Rodgers & The Rebounds and The Beat Syndicate (as Johnny & The Bobcats) in May/June 1963 (confirmed by my diary)

California Ballroom, Dunstable, Beds (as Johnny & The Bobcats) with Brian Poole & The Tremeloes on 11 October 1963. This gig is listed on the Cali website but does not show us as support group but it is in my diary. This attendance numbers were boosted by the two coaches that came with fans from the Swan pub in Tottenham to support us.

The Kings Head, High Beach, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) in November 1963

Hackney Empire, Hackney, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) (shortly before it closed and was eventually refurbished) with Norman Vaughan, Hilda Baker & Our Eli, Ted Rogers (not the 3-2-1 variety), Jackie Rae, Salky Gowers, Keith Fordyce (compare) and various acrobats and jugglers in November or December 1963

The Angel pub, Edmonton, north London (as Johnny & The Bobcats) in December 1963

Pub in Cambridge in Cambridgeshire in late 1963

Group 004 + 1 gig list:

Howard Hall, Ponders End, Enfield, north London (as Group 004 + 1) in January 1964

The Manor House dance hall, Finsbury Park, north London with The Hollies on 1 December 1963 (or January 1964)

The Cambridge pub, Edmonton, north London (as Group 004 + 1) in January 1964

The Ritz Cinema, Turnpike Lane, Wood Green, north London (as Group 004 + 1) in January 1964

Club Noreik, south Tottenham, north London with The Paramounts and Jackie Rae (as Group 004 + 1) on 25 January 1964. This gig is shown in The Paramounts LP insert but support acts not shown. 

The Swan Pub, Tottenham, north London (as Group 004 + 1) in January 1964. This was a continuation of our residency under the new band’s name. 

California Ballroom, Dunstable, Beds with The Merseybeats (as Group 004 + 1) on 17 January 1964 (confirmed by Cali website)

The Chez Don, Dalston, east London (as Group 004 + 1) on 15 February 1964

Alison Hall, St Patrick’s Church, Enfield, north London (as Group 004 + 1) on 18 February 1964

The Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (as Group 004 + 1) on 21 February 1964

Cuckoo Hall Lane Youth Club, Edmonton, north London (as Group 004 + 1) on 27 February 1964

Gig in Finchley, north London with Bern Elliott & The Fenmen (as Group 004 + 1) in February or March 1964

Cuckoo Hall Lane Youth Club, Edmonton, north London (as Group 004 + 1) on 12 March 1964

West Cliff Concert Hall, Ramsgate, Kent with Duffy Power & The Beat Syndicate (as Group 004 + 1) on 13 March 1964 (advert confirms this).

Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London (as Group 004 + 1) on 15 March 1964 (confirmed by my diary)

Club Noreik, south Tottenham, north London (as Group 004 +1) on 27 March 1964 (confirmed by my diary)

Gig in Haywards Heath, West Sussex (possibly The Pilgrim) (as Group 004 + 1), possibly in March 1964

Kingston Jazz Cellar, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey with The Cy Laurie Jazz Band (as Group 004 + 1), possibly in March 1964

Noreik Club, south Tottenham, north London with Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames (as Group 004 + 1) on 17 April 1964 (confirmed by my diary)

Noreik Club, south Tottenham, north London with The Kinks (as Group 004 + 1) on 25 April 1964 (confirmed by my diary)

Noreik Club, south Tottenham, north London with The Moquettes (as Group 004 + 1) in April or May 1964 (confirmed by my diary)

West Cliff Concert Hall, Ramsgate, Kent with Deke Arlon & The Offbeats (as Group 004 + 1) in May 1964 (confirmed advert but no support acts printed)

Greenham Common American Air Base, Newbury, Berkshire as Group 004 + 1) on 29 May 1964. The next day troops were returning to the USA and the site was closing.

Noreik Club, south Tottenham, north London with The Undertakers (as Group 004 + 1) in May/June 1964

Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton, north London with The Steampacket (featuring Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger Trinity and a little known Rod Stewart) (as Group 004 + 1) in June 1964

Fishmongers Arms, Wood Green, north London (as Group 004 + 1) possibly in late June 1964

Shoreditch Town Hall, Shoreditch, east London with Gene Vincent & The Shouts (as Group 004 + 1) on 3 July 1964. This gig is listed on the Spent brothers’ website but does not show support acts. This was my last gig with Group 004 + 1.

There were many more gigs with Group 004 + 1 which are not listed here where I don’t have more information.

I left Group 004 + 1 in mid-July 1964. The band continued to perform under another name, which I don’t have the details of. They did a short tour of Austria in 1965 and continued to perform until 1966.

I joined The Beat Syndicate in late August 1964, based in Leytonstone, east London.

The Beat Syndicate:

John Maskell (lead vocals)

Mick George (lead guitar)

Jim Newton (rhythm guitar)

John Powis (bass)

Eddie Latrielle (drums) replaced in late 1964 by Tony Smith (drums)

Our session at Pye Studios was organised by none other than Alan. A Freeman, the top man. We recorded two tracks “Try as I My” our own composition, and “Early One Morning”. Regrettably, the single was never released and the only copy given to the group has been lost in time.

One gig I remember was at a great venue known as the Cellar Club, Kingston upon Thames. We were booked to support The Nashville Teens, who were in ascendancy at the time. We arrived at 7pm and played until 9pm, finishing our stint. The owner of the club then came and asked us if we would play on as The Nashville Teens were up north recording a TV spot and were fog bound unable to get a flight back. We agreed to carry on until they arrived.

In the audience were two of The Plebs, formerly with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages. Derek Sirmon and Danny McCulloch realised we had been playing a long time and came up and gave our drummer and bass player a break. Having emailed Derek Sirmon, he replied remembering the night in question.

The stage at this venue was similar to the one in the film The Blues Brothers, where the stage slimmed out to a narrow run almost the length of the dance area. We played for a total of four and a quarter hour and I was on stage for most of the time, what a great night. The Nashville Teens turned up around 12.30am, just as most people were leaving.

The following is a list of all the venues I recall or have recorded in my diary that The Beat Syndicate played. Some of these gigs don’t have dates due to a lack of information. However, the connection the gigs and artists are accurate.

The Beat Syndicate gig list:

Weathersfield American Airbase in Essex in August 1964

Dorothy Ballroom, Cambridge with Bob Kidman & His Orchestra, Eric Squire & His Quartet and The Prestons (source: Glenn Povey’s book Echoes: The Complete History of Pink Floyd) on 5 September 1964

Leyton Baths, Leyton, east London with The Animals on 12 September 1964

Hastings Pier, Hastings, East Sussex with Patrick Dane & The Quiet Five on 19 September 1964

Lakenheath American Airbase in Suffolk in October 1964

Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Walthamstow, north London with The Fairies and Dean Brent & The Strollers on 24 October 1964

Leyton Baths, Leytonstone, east London with Dave Berry & The Cruisers (gig is listed on Dave Berry’s website but with no support acts shown)

Cuckfield Queens Hall, Cuckfield, West Sussex with The Deputies on 13 November 1964

Merton College, Oxford with The Quiet Five on 29 November 1964 (confirmed by college literature)

Leyton Baths, Leyton, east London with Tony Jackson & The Vibrations on 5 December 1964

Red Lion, Leytonstone, east London on 4 January 1965 (We played downstairs in the bar while upstairs in the dancehall was The Who). This gig was confirmed on The Who website, with no pub gig details. 

Leyton Baths, Leyton, east London with Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders in February 1965

Ilford Palais, Ilford, east London in February or March 1965

Snodland Drill Hall, Snodland, Kent on 13 February 1965

Synagogue, Chingford, east London with Unit Four Plus Two in March or April 1965 (with an audition on 20 and 22 June 1965)

Chez Don, Dalston, east London (around 1 March 1965)

Chez Don, Dalston, east London (around 6 March 1965)

Large pub in Borehamwood, Herts (possibly The Linx) on 9 March 1965

Walthamstow Assembly Halls, Walthamstow, north London with Neil Christian & The Crusaders (last gig with Jimmy Page) on 27 March 1965

Two Puddings, Stratford, east London on 3 April 1965 (we played downstairs in the bar while Sean Buckley & The Breadcrumbs played upstairs in the dance hall)

Walthamstow Assembly Halls, Walthamstow, north London with Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders on 24 April 1965

Byron Hotel, Greenford, west London on 24 April 1965

Chicksands American Airbase, Chicksands, Beds for two days in April 1965

The Palais, Deal, Kent (between 1-4 May 1965)

Ciros’ Club, Great Portland Street, central London in May or June 1965

Green Tree, Hatfield, Herts (between 16-18 May 1965)

Walthamstow Assembly Halls, Walthamstow, north London with Tony Rivers & The Castaways on 22 May 1965

Rhodes Centre, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts with Troy Dante & The Infernos on 24 May 1965

Chez Don, Dalston, east London (between 4-8 June 1965)

Chez Don, Dalston, east London with Mickey Finn & The Blue Men (around 6 June 1965)

Coronation Gardens, Leytonstone, east London (won beat competition) on 19 June 1965

The Woodstock, north Cheam, Surrey (audition on 20 and 22 June 1965)

Stratford Town Hall, Stratford, east London (between 27-30 June 1965)

Leyton Baths, Leyton, east London with The Rebounds (between June and August 1965)

Two Puddings, Stratford, east London (played downstairs in the bar in July 1965)

Gig in High Wycombe, Bucks with The Swinging Blue Jeans in August 1965

Gig with The Mojos (around 12-16 August 1965)

Cellar Club, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey with The Nashville Teens on 12 August 1965

Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Walthamstow, north London with The Big Boss Men on 14 August 1965

Wimbledon Palais Beat Competition with various groups, including Pink Floyd who did not get selected, in August 1965 (The Beat Syndicate came fourth place in our heat)

Coronation Gardens, Leytonstone around 30 August 1965

The Wake Arms, Epping, Essex in August or September 1965

Granada Cinema, East Ham, east London with The Honeycombs between mid-to-end of September 1965

In late September 1965 I left The Beat Syndicate who continued to perform into 1968/1969.

There were many other bookings with both of my bands that I haven’t been able to list, and I’d welcome any additions below in the comments section.

These are a few of the ones with The Beat Syndicate where I don’t have any details of when they took place:

Bentwaters American Airbase in Suffolk (two night: Friday and Saturday)

Chicksands American Airbase in Beds (two nights: Friday and Saturday)

Weathersfield American Airbase in Essex (two occasions)

Alconbury American Airbase in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire

Burdrop Park American Services Hospital base in Wiltshire

Fairfield Hall, Croydon, Surrey